Fantasy Sports: No Patriots, but still plenty to see in Super Bowl

After a week of avoiding it, we must finally come to accept that two teams not from New England still get to play in the Super Bowl.

And they are two teams that went a combined 3-0 against the Patriots this season, so it might also be time to stop moaning.

The 49ers came into the playoffs as a hot pick in the NFC, having won 3 of 4. The Ravens didn’t look nearly as good, dropping four of their last five games. Those losses were to near-playoff-contender Pittsburgh and actually playoff contenders Washington, Denver and Cincinnati, so maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed.

Add in the magic potion of Ray Lewis — as Anna Welker said, just add four wives, six kids, a murder acquittal and stir — and now we have a Super Bowl between two teams who look like they could provide an exciting contest.

It is tough to really know what to expect from the game, though. The Ravens finished the regular season ranked an atypically mediocre 17th in the NFL in overall defense, but they have taken out top-10 offensive teams helmed by Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the playoffs, so they can’t be that awful.

The 49ers defense is becoming what Baltimore used to be; it ranked third overall this season after being fourth last season when it fell a game short of the Super Bowl. It hasn’t fared too poorly in the playoffs either, forcing Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan to watch the game from home.

It seems impossible to expect a low-scoring game, however, since the Ravens averaged 30 points per game over their three playoff games, while the 49ers averaged 36.5 over their two wins.

So there are fantasy points out there to be had and at the risk of sounding like a broken record (does saying that betray my age or is the phrase still valid?), I again say that one has to look to Joe Flacco as the game’s most probable offensive star.

My dire predictions last week about Flacco’s potential proved regrettably prescient as he threw for three touchdowns in defeating the Patriots. That gave him eight TD throws in the postseason without throwing an interception.

He does that with good, but not great, passing numbers, averaging 284 1/3 yards per game, a number slightly inflated by the extra time he got in a double OT game against Denver.

That number still outdoes the individual output from San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, who still seems to be getting more attention, though, because he is younger and more dynamic with a greater number of tattoos.

It became difficult to not pay attention to Kaepernick after he opened his playoffs by rushing 16 times for a quarterback-record 181 yards against the Packers. Keep in mind that was an NFL record, which means no one had ever done it before, so it might get boring waiting for Kaepernick to do it again.

Especially considering he rushed only two times last week, taking them for only 21 yards.

The San Fran QB is much more mundane through the air, where he is averaging 248 yards over the two games with three touchdowns and an interception. At least you know where he’ll be looking a lot, though, as Michael Crabtree has two of those touchdowns after being targeting 18 times, catching 15 balls for 176 yards.

The Ravens receiver situation seems less sure as Torrey Smith gets credit for spreading the field with his speed, but Anquan Boldin also merits a good deal of Flacco’s attention. If you need to decide who is a better bet to put up numbers next week, though, know that Boldin’s playoff numbers beat out Smith’s in targets (26-19), catches (16-9), yards (276-198) and touchdowns (3-2).

Both teams also have solid tight ends, but the fantasy edge goes to the 49ers’ Vernon Davis, who has more potential for big plays. In two games, Vernon Davis has average numbers of six catches and one touchdown, but he also has 150 receiving yards. In three games, Baltimore’s Dennis Pitta has 137 yards, but with 10 catches and a pair of scores, so it is not as if he is without value.

Offensively, San Francisco’s biggest advantage may be in the running game. The Ravens do have Ray Rice, but the 49ers were ranked fourth against the rush during the regular season. Combine that with Baltimore showing it can do it through the air and the Patriots holding Rice to 2.5 yards per carry last week, and things start to look even worse for Rice.

Still, he is Ray Rice and has 247 yards and two touchdowns this postseason, so it’s not like he will do nothing.

San Francisco’s Frank Gore, however, has played in one less game than Rice and has one more TD. He scored two last week while getting 90 yards against the Falcons and that was after rushing for 119 yards and a score against the Packers.

Maybe there really are enough reasons to want to watch this game.

The San Francisco 49ers ranked fourth against the run this season, having a knack for keeping down a foe’s big rusher as long as he isn’t named Marshawn Lynch.

The opponent’s leading rusher against the 49ers for each game this season: